Kerry Garners public condemnations of Assad, but a broad coalition remained elusive

PARIS — Secretary of State John Kerry garnered public condemnations of the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad from a growing number of Arab and European countries over the weekend but a broad international coalition of countries ready to publicly support U.S.-led strikes in Syria remained elusive.

Mr. Kerry said a number of Arab League countries on Sunday endorsed a statement released by the U.S. on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. The statement — backed by 12 G-20 countries — calls for a "strong international response" to the Assad government's alleged chemical-arms attack on Aug. 21, allegations the regime denies.

"What we are seeking is to enforce the standard with respect to chemical weapons," Mr. Kerry told a news conference after meeting with the secretary of the Arab League and nine Arab foreign ministers. "We are not seeking to become engaged in, or party to, or take over Syria's civil war."

Mr. Kerry traveled late on Sunday to London, where Syria is expected to dominate his talks with the U.K. government. He will also meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss peace negotiations with Israel.

The swing through Europe is part of a diplomatic offensive that has so far fallen short of President Barack Obama's goal of enlisting explicit support for the strikes from an array of allies before Congress votes this week on whether to authorize his administration's plan to attack the Assad regime. A broad coalition is central to the administration's efforts to persuade lawmakers that the strikes have broad international support.

On Saturday, European Union foreign ministers agreed there was "strong evidence" the Assad regime was behind the alleged use of chemical weapons against rebels, and Mr. Kerry declared the number of countries ready to take military action in Syria has reached "double digits." He didn't name them.

In a statement Saturday, EU ministers stopped short of calling for military action and expressed hope that United Nations inspectors sent to investigate last month's attack would be allowed to present their report before any action was taken. Arab League countries were weighing "possible and necessary measures" to deter the Assad regime from using chemical weapons in the future, Mr. Kerry said.

On Sunday, Mr. Kerry said Saudi Arabia — which publicly endorsed the G-20 side statement in St. Petersburg — supports U.S. plans to take military action in Syria. Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, who attended the Sunday meeting, didn't comment on the matter.

Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiyah, who flanked Mr. Kerry at the Sunday news conference, said his country supported the statement. Qatar is a longtime supplier of Syria's rebels.

Mr. Kerry declined to name any other Arab League countries that he said signed the G-20 side statement on Sunday. Mr. Kerry said he expected the Arab governments he met with Sunday to make their own public announcements on the matter in the next 24 hours.

Paris and Washington are lobbying countries across the world to sign the statement, a senior French official said, as part of a strategy to create diplomatic cover for carrying out the strikes without a resolution from the U.N. Security Council.

"Roughly speaking, if the Security Council is blocked and we carry out strikes, we know that the countries that signed will politically support that response," the senior French official said.

Washington and Paris have argued that a U.N. resolution was out of reach, because Russia is wielding its veto power on the Security Council to block military intervention. On Sunday, however, there were signs that stance was weakening.

France, the U.S.'s closest ally in the planned strikes, is under intense public pressure to not intervene militarily in Syria, and has asked the U.S. to renew the push for a Security Council resolution. On Sunday, Mr. Kerry said the U.S. would consider the request.

French President François Hollande said he wouldn't order strikes until U.N. inspectors investigating the chemical weapons allegations issue a report on their findings — a move that could significantly delay any strikes.

Mr. Obama has made no decision on whether to await the U.N. report before ordering strikes, Mr. Kerry said Saturday, adding he would discuss the matter with the president.

With public opinion in France leaning against the strikes, Mr. Kerry seized on a Saturday news conference with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius to appeal to the French people.

Speaking in French, Mr. Kerry spoke of how French soldiers were gassed during World War I. He also drew parallels between the world's struggle to respond to the Assad regime and European appeasement of Nazi Germany during the Munich conference that took place at the outset of World War II.

"This is our Munich moment. This is our chance to join together and pursue accountability over appeasement," Mr. Kerry said

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